Undergraduate & Postgraduate programs in the USA
There are a few hurdles in reaching there, especially for pursuing one’s higher studies both at the UG and PG levels. These are :
1. Obtaining Good scores in Admission Tests like the GRE / GMAT / SAT / TOEFL & IELTS
2. College / University selection – An extremely difficult task given the number of options, geographical locations, varying tuition fees, living costs, matching the college and the choice of Major.
3. Obtaining excellent Letters of Recommendations, both academic as well as extra curricular and sports certificates of recognition.
4. Writing an impressive Statement of Purpose.
5. Online Application Process, application fees, SEVIS, etc
6. Finally, Visa application process and preparing for the visa interview.
The USA education system is broadly divided into these
The Undergraduate System:
The US Govt has a very small part in the UG education system. The entire UG world is governed by a private board, ie, collegeboard. www.collegeboard.com
They have a comprehensive web portal where all information about all undergraduate degree programs are detailed.
There are over 3000 colleges offering UG degree programs in the USA. The opportunities and choices for an international student are simply enormous. This is also the only country to offer scholarships for ALL programs to meritorious students,
There are 3 kinds of Bachelors’ courses available in the USA :
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM:
The American undergraduate program is 4 years program. The 4 undergraduate years commonly called freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years.
After successful completion of 4 years studies in undergraduate course and satisfying university, they will be awarded Bachelor degree.
The most common method consists of four years of studies leading to a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Bachelor of social Work (BSW), Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) 5 years Professional Architecture Programs offer the Bachelor of Architecture degree (BArch).
American undergraduate degree is divided into two components, “lower division” and upper division” each lasting 2 years. General education classes and basic classes in the major are taken in the lower division and specialized classes in the major taken in the upper Division.
In the United States professional degrees such as law, medicine, pharmacy and dentistry, are ordinarily not offered at the undergraduate level and are completed as graduate study after earning a bachelor degree, depending on the program. These professional fields do not require a specific undergraduate major, though medicine, pharmacy and dentistry have set prerequisite courses that must be taken as enrollment.
Such pre- professional programs and majors are some times referred to as pre-med, pre-dentistry, pre-vet, etc. however; students major with biology or chemistry are also eligible to apply.
Associate Degree
An Associate’s Degree can be pursued after finishing 12 years of school education. These programs are usually offered by community colleges or junior colleges. These programs may vary from specialized technical/ vocational programs to liberal arts degrees designed to lead to transfer into four-year Bachelor’s degree programs. Most public two-year colleges have articulation agreements with four-year institutions.
Community college awards Associates of Arts (AA) or Associates of Science (AS) after 2 years Community colleges offers more affordable option with a clear articulation or transfer pathway to 4 year college/ university. Some community colleges have enrollment agreements with a local college/ university, where the community college provide first 2 years of study and the university provide the remaining 2 years studies. These programs are often called “2+2” years of studies.
GRADUATE EDUCATION
In USA, the term graduate education ( In commonwealth countries, this often referred as Post graduate degree) refers to study conducted after obtaining bachelor degree or initial 4 years degree and in sometimes after few years of professional work experience. Graduate education leads to a professional degree, master’s degree or a doctoral degree. Example, Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of engineering (MEng), MBA, Med, Master of Fine Arts (MFA), MArch.
In United States, Students with Bachelor degrees may apply directly into doctoral Programs without earning master’s degree in any majors.
After additional years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a masters degree, students may earn Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or other doctoral degree, such as Doctor of Education (EdD), Doctor of Theology (DTh), Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD){for LAW}, etc.
Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post graduation such as residency/ or internship which must be completed after graduation.
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